"If we all go all-in, we're going to win a state championship,'" Roll, the All-Central Florida boys Player of the Year, told teammates. "We were going through the motions. I told them that we didn't have much more time together."

Like Lake Highland, Timber Creek's girls team was humbled by a setback. And just like the Highlanders, the Wolves rallied around their top player, all-area girls Player of the Year Ellie Yenor.

"We all just assumed we were going to win," said Yenor, recalling a 9-8 overtime loss to Winter Park after a 9-1 start. "We weren't focused, and when we lost, our seniors got on us.

"We then realized the season wasn't going to be as easy as we expected."

Those moments galvanized the two Sentinel coverage-area schools as Lake Highland's boys won the state title and Timber Creek's girls reached the state semifinals.

The Highlanders and Wolves dropped just one match after losses to Benjamin and Winter Park, respectively.

Despite a rough start, Roll always believed in his team.

"I remember him saying, 'Coach, it sounds crazy, but even though we're 5-4, I feel more confident this year than I did last year [when the Highlanders lost in the state final],'" Spaulding said. "That says a lot."

Roll guided a potent attack that featured top prospect Devon Lewis and Boston signee Clay Phillips. With so many options, Roll distributed the ball and took advantage of one-on-one situations, netting 57 goals and 70 assists.

His 127 points are a school record.

"He does it almost effortlessly, to where you look at the stat book at the end of the game and wonder how he filled it up," Hagerty coach Mark Ayad said. "He quietly gets his points every game."

Yenor, a sophomore, led the area with 121 goals and recorded 36 assists. The Wolves (20-4) became the first Orange County public-school team to reach a girls state semifinal.

The Wolves lost 14-13 to St. Johns Bartram Trail.

"I want to put Timber Creek on the map,'' Yenor said. "I want them to know we're a force to be reckoned with.''

Yenor, who has taken unofficial visits to USC, Princeton and Connecticut, has time to make a college decision. For Roll, he had offers to play on a partial scholarship at colleges such as Salisbury University in Maryland, but he will play club lacrosse at Florida.

"There's no way I can stop playing lacrosse," Roll said. "It's too much fun."